Further to my previous question on the word, “profile in courage” in Maureen Dowd’s article of NY-Times, “Of Mad Men, Mad Women and Meat Loaf,” I was puzzled with the ending line of the following sentence of the same article just like a high school boy who stumbled at the last question of English reading comprehension test:

“It shouldn’t be a surprise that many women support Romney, even
though he has somersaulted on reproductive rights and his running mate
sponsored a bill with Akin giving fertilized eggs the “legal and
constitutional attributes and privileges of personhood.” Just as it
shouldn’t be surprising that Romney has the support of a huge swath of
blue-collar white men, even though he’s on a mission to make the 1
percent 100 percent able to indulge in car elevators.”

What does Romney is “on a mission to make the 1 percent 100 percent able to indulge in car elevators” mean? What does “car elevators” signify?

If a “car-elevator” is the symol of the rich, can’t the very richest people who already stand among top 1 percent of all income classes afford to get it if they wish to own it, without being subsidized by Mr. Romney?

Is there any reason you were unable to look up "car elevator" in Google? google.com/search?q=car+elevator the number 1 result is titled " Car Elevators Are The Latest In Luxury -- Just Ask Mitt Romney." Dated June 2012.
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Jeff Atwood♦Oct 28 '12 at 9:39

@JeffAtwood - Why would you think that he couldn't do that? The article is interesting but does not seem liable to clarify the question especially well for anyone that it does not make sense to initially. " ... the 1 percent 100 percent ..." is a key part of the query and is not covered at all by the article. It identifies him as being a 1%er but adds no explanation of how that relates to the rest of the material.
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Russell McMahonOct 29 '12 at 8:40

3 Answers
3

NOTE !!!: I'm in NZ. I do not participate in US politics. I just stand bemused at a great distance and scratch my head. Down here at the bottom of the world I more and more tend to not vote for anyone major.

"The 1%" = the richest 1% of the population = "the very richest people".

"The 99%" is also a "code" or slogan from the "Occupy Wall Street" campaign that suggests that the top 1% of the people are getting the most benefit from the system while the workers (ie 'us') constitute 99% of the population.

"100% of the 1%" = all of the very richest people. ie none of the very richest people are excluded.

Taken overall = "Wants to make every one of the very richest people much richer so that they can all afford very expensive showy luxury items". The implication being that this is achieved at the expense of the 99% non-richest people.

Overall short translation - "Romney is out to make the rich much richer at your expense".

It means that she thinks Romney is planning to make make wealthy people such as himself wealthier.

The '1%' is the wealthiest 1% of society and having their own car elevator is a status symbol beyond the reach of most, but Romney has one. Romney (allegedly) wants to ensure that 100% of the 1% are also in a position to afford one.

Looking at your quote, it doesn't seem to be meaning "100% of the 1%". Rather, I think it means "he’s on a mission to make the very rich (1 percent) fully able (100 percent able) to indulge in car elevators.”

100% is often used to mean "totally", or "fully". However, 110% is more common, even though some think it's a bit hyperbolic.